


It's Now Or Never

by TMar



Category: Star Trek: The Next Generation
Genre: Alien Flora & Fauna, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-18
Updated: 2018-12-18
Packaged: 2019-09-22 08:20:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,674
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17056238
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TMar/pseuds/TMar
Summary: Another of my Tropes-On-Parade. Picard drinks something he's allergic to, which makes him lose his inhibitions and forget what happened afterwards. Beverly Crusher has fun with that.





	It's Now Or Never

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this in April 1993. It appeared in the fanzine "Naked Now Three".

IT'S NOW OR NEVER

Jean-Luc Picard lurched along the corridor of the Enterprise in the direction  
of his Chief Medical Officer's quarters. He had but one thing on his mind,  
something that would have utterly shocked his crew had they known about it.  
Luckily for him they didn't; equally luckily for him, it was the night watch  
and so very few people were moving about the corridors.

Picard came to Beverly Crusher's quarters, but didn't buzz - he went  
straight in. It was common practice on the Enterprise to leave one's doors  
unlocked - certain decks were off-limits to children, and anybody with  
Starfleet training would not barge into another person's quarters uninvited.  
At least, not usually...

Picard looked around - where WAS Beverly? Her acting workshop had  
finished an hour before, he knew, so he'd expected her to be here. Walking  
into the sleeping quarters, he heard the shower running and relaxed. She was  
here. Good.

The captain was clearly not himself as he undressed completely and got  
into Beverly's bed to wait for her. He couldn't put his finger on the reason  
why he had suddenly decided that she was the woman for him and that they had  
to consummate the relationship at once, but he had suddenly decided just that.  
Jean-Luc smiled to himself, imagining Beverly's reaction when she came out of  
the bathroom to find that the man she loved had finally stopped fighting the  
feelings that were between them.

***

Doctor Beverly Crusher stepped out of the shower feeling refreshed. It had  
been a long day and she was tired, but ready to go to sleep feeling clean and  
cosy. She looked around for her robe, then remembered she had left it on the  
edge of her bed. No matter, she no longer had to worry about Wesley, so when  
she had towelled off, she put the towel into the laundry unit and walked into  
the bedroom.

To find Jean-Luc Picard waiting for her. In her bed. With a ridiculous  
grin on his face. Unclothed, by the looks of things.

Unclothed! Beverly realised that she didn't have any clothes on either.  
She rushed to the bed and grabbed her robe, one part of her mind wondering  
just what had gotten into Jean-Luc. She pulled the robe tightly around  
herself, trying to protest, but all that came out was, "Jean-Luc...!"

Picard didn't move, he merely gave her an appreciative glance and said,  
"You can take that off."

Beverly frowned at him, sure she was dreaming. "Wh... what?"

"Why keep it on when I've already seen what's under it?"

"Excuse me?"

"Beverly... it's going to come off anyway, why waste time?" Picard looked  
at her with a bit too much of a leering glance, and the doctor decided that  
there just had to be something wrong with him.

Not removing her robe, she rushed into the other room and grabbed her  
medical tricorder from her jacket pocket. She was in such a hurry that at  
first she couldn't get it out, and she ended up tearing the pocket. 'Who  
cares,' she thought, more concerned with the captain's condition.

Crusher returned to the other room, trying to maintain dignity - which  
wasn't that easy when her hair was damp and clinging to her neck (very sexily,  
the captain noticed) and she had on a very short, white robe. She approached  
the bed, which only served to perk Picard's interest up even more. "Beverly!"  
he said.

The doctor ignored him to run a scan, but she had to lean over his  
reclining form to do it, and he seemed to have other ideas. He pulled at the  
ties of the robe, which opened to reveal one slightly damp, smooth, bare  
shoulder. On impulse, Picard kissed it, which made Beverly drop the tricorder  
right in a strategic place. "Ow!" Jean-Luc stared at her. "Isn't this what  
you've always wanted, my love?"

Beverly retrieved the tricorder carefully, then looked at him as though  
he were some microbe she was studying. "What?"

"We shouldn't fight our feelings."

Beverly tried to make sense of the readings, but she could feel a heat  
creeping up her neck, onto her face, and she found herself having trouble  
thinking straight. 'Great, Beverly,' she thought. 'Now your hormones take  
over.'

She stood up. "J... uh... Jean-Luc, I'm going to get a drink for us,  
okay?"

Picard looked happy. "Okay. Something with some bite for a change."

"Right." Beverly went into the living quarters.

***

Standing in her lounge area, Beverly took a deep breath. 'It's not the  
airconditioning,' she thought, 'it's me.' She pulled her hair away from her  
face, looking out into the coldness of space.

It helped. A bit. The doctor looked at the tricorder. Picard seemed to  
be having some sort of allergic reaction to something he'd ingested. If so,  
it could be making him act the way one would when intoxicated. His inhibitions  
were certainly all gone, she'd noticed. She began to whisper to herself, so  
that she could hear her own thoughts out loud, so she'd know she wasn't  
imagining this.

"All right, Beverly. First things first. The captain needs medical  
attention. Have to get him to Sickbay..." Then a thought struck her. "But how  
do I get him there without... maybe I could call Security." She decided  
against that almost immediately, trying to imagine how she would explain the  
presence of a very naked Jean-Luc Picard in her bed. "Okay, not Security.  
Stupid idea. Sedative!" 

She rushed to the replicator, ordered two drinks so as not to make him   
suspicious, then overrode the computer's lock on medicines being dispensed   
through food and drink units, and got a mild sedative that would knock Picard   
out just long enough to allow him to fall asleep naturally. Hopefully by the   
morning the reaction would have worn off and everything would be okay.   
She took the drinks through to the bedroom.

"Here we go, Jean-Luc." She forced a smile, sitting on the edge of the bed -  
not too close, and passed him his drink.

"To us," the captain replied.

Beverly tipped her glass at him, swallowing hard, and drank some of her  
drink. Uncharacteristically, Picard drained his in one go, then inched closer.  
He ran his hand up her neck, along her cheek, and tangled it in her still-damp  
hair. "Beverly."

"Uh..." Picard kissed her, and despite herself, Beverly responded, the  
heat returning. 

The kiss didn't last long, however, as within fifty seconds of ingesting  
the drink, Picard was unconscious.

The doctor stood up, noticing that she was shaking all over. She ignored  
it for the time being while she pushed Picard back onto the pillows and pulled  
the covers up under his chin. Let him sleep it off.

Then she ordered some more linen from the ship's stores, and had enough  
time to calm down before a very obliging crewman brought her what she'd asked  
for. "Thank you, Crewman. I really don't know how I managed to get tea all  
over my covers."

"No problem, Doctor. Happy to help."

When the door slid shut, Beverly locked it on a voice command and made  
up a bed for herself in her lounge area. Then she only had to sneak into the  
bedroom to get her pyjamas, and she was set. 'What a night!' Just before she  
drifted off to sleep, the doctor remembered to ask the computer to wake her  
half an hour early the next day so she could work on the problem of Picard's  
strange allergy.

***

Morning dawned black and starry as usual, and the doctor woke on the  
computer's soft call. She quickly put her things away, noticing that Picard  
was still deeply asleep in her bed. Time to take a quick shower... a cold one. 

The captain of the Enterprise drifted awake slowly. The hum of the ship  
wasn't quite right, the bedclothes felt strange, and he was sure he heard  
water running. He opened one eye. 'These aren't my quarters.'

He looked around. They most definitely were not; in fact he recognised  
them as Beverly Crusher's quarters. "How did I get here?" he wondered aloud.  
He tried to remember the previous night, but nothing came to mind, so he  
decided to get up. 

He pushed the covers aside, and gasped. He had nothing on at all! 'What   
happened last night!?' Picard looked around in a panic for his uniform, and   
had never felt quite so relieved when he found it abandoned on the floor next   
to the wall. He pulled it on in a hurry, watching the door to the bathroom all   
the time. He didn't want Beverly to come out and find him here, he had to   
clear his mind first. 

What was he going to say to her? It seemed pretty obvious that something   
had happened between them, and he wanted to get his thoughts in order   
before he was forced to confront it.

Trying to make as little noise as possible, Picard sneaked out of Beverly  
Crusher's quarters and rushed to his own.

***

When Beverly came out of the bathroom to find Picard gone, she wasn't really  
surprised, she just hoped he'd remember what he'd eaten or drunk the day  
before that had made him act that way. She did have those tricorder readings,  
but they might not be enough. 

Making the bed and humming to herself, Beverly thought about the night  
before. Picard had obviously decided to do something about his feelings for  
her, but when had she ever indicated that she felt anything for him? "Oh, you  
just marched into his Ready Room and told him! Damn!" 

When she was finished, she proceeded to Sickbay where she analysed the  
readings.

***

Picard finished putting on a clean uniform and went to the Bridge. No one else  
was there yet, so he relieved Data and sat in the command chair, trying to  
remember just what had gone on the night before. It was still a complete  
blank. 

The last thing he remembered, Guinan had asked him to try a new drink  
she'd discovered on some planet or other, and he had. Who had been in Ten  
Forward at the time? Riker and Deanna, definitely. He thought he remembered  
O'Brien and Keiko, but he couldn't be sure. Worf had been there, he thought.  
So had Geordi and Barclay. Beverly had not been there. At least, he didn't  
think so. 'So how did I get to her quarters if she didn't invite me?' 

It didn't occur to the captain that he'd done something on his own initiative for  
once. All he could think of was that if he'd gone off at that time of night  
with Beverly Crusher, then the entire crew probably suspected something. He  
began to dread the other members of his bridge crew arriving...

Just then, William T. Riker stepped through the turbolift doors, smiled at  
Picard, and took his seat. "Morning, Sir."

"Morning, Number One."

"Have a good evening, Captain?"

'What could he mean by that?' Picard wondered, getting defensive. 

Riker's smile faded when he saw Picard frown. "Sir?"

"Oh... ah... yes. A good evening."

"Deanna and I went to see the high school's production of Romeo and  
Juliet," Riker told him. "It was amazingly well done."

Picard wondered if Riker was making some sort of veiled reference to him  
and Beverly. So he tried to steer the subject away from THAT aspect. "Are they  
still changing the characters to Romulans and Humans and such?"

In the previous century, enterprising theatrical people had often changed  
Romeo and Juliet from Montague and Capulet to Romulan and Human, or Klingon  
and Romulan, to give the play slightly more relevance. But Riker replied in  
the negative. 

"They were completely faithful to the Bard, actually. The student who played   
Romeo was sixteen, and the one who played Juliet was thirteen. Actually," and   
here Riker looked closely at Picard, "I'm surprised that you didn't attend, Sir,   
knowing how much you love Shakespeare."

Picard took that as another reference to himself and Beverly. He jumped  
up from the chair. "What are you trying to imply, Number One?"

Riker only looked confused. "Sir?"

And the captain realised that perhaps Will Riker knew nothing about the  
events of the previous night. "Ah... nothing. Never mind. I'll be in my Ready  
Room."

"Yes, Sir," said his First Officer, frowning. What had gotten into the  
captain?

***

Beverly Crusher studied the results again. Picard had ingested some chemical  
compound identified as Fujath extract, which was found only on Risa. But he  
hadn't been to Risa for... over two years, and anyway the only thing he'd  
brought back from that world had been that ridiculous Horgonn thing for Will.  
So Picard must have ingested it as a drink or delicacy of some sort.

"Computer, where was Captain Picard last night between the hours of nineteen  
hundred and twenty-one hundred?"

"Captain Picard was in Ten Forward."

"Guinan!" Crusher knew that Guinan liked to ask her patrons for their  
opinions on drinks she discovered or heard about on alien planets. One bet  
that Jean-Luc was allergic to this extract and hadn't known it. Beverly went  
immediately to Ten Forward to ask the hostess herself.

***

"I gave the captain a wonderful new drink that I heard about called a Rurva  
Shake. He loved it."

"I'm sure he did. Guinan, the captain is allergic to Fujath extract."

"What?"

"He's allergic to it. He's not allergic to the chemicals themselves, but  
that particular chemical compound acts like alcohol in his bloodstream. He  
wasn't behaving like himself last night."

"Really?" Guinan inched closer. "Who was he behaving like?"

Beverly smiled. "I mean, he was acting... strangely."

"If you drink alcohol it removes your inhibitions. So I would say that  
Jean-Luc Picard was behaving more like himself, not less." Guinan watched with  
amusement as Beverly ran her hands through her hair, trying to get her point  
across. "Whatever. The point is, please don't let him have any of that again."

"Gave you something to think about, did he?"

"Guinan -- "

The hostess smiled with utter amusement. "Yes, I know. It's none of my  
business. But since you were both off-duty last night, and he was in here, how  
did you discover this fact?"

"Guinan..."

"Relax, Doctor. I'll see he doesn't have any more."

"Thanks."

***

At ten hundred hours, Deanna Troi arrived to discuss the crew's counselling  
profiles. It was all confidential, of course, but she had to report as to how  
it all was going, and if anyone needed to speak directly to the captain about  
some problem. The report was usually very brief, and today was no exception.

When the report was over, Deanna also remarked that she thought Picard would  
enjoy the high school's Shakespeare production. "I think it's just what you need,   
Captain."

"Why?" Picard was still suspicious.

"You need to relax more."

"Oh."

"Doctor Crusher is going to the performance tonight. Why don't you go along?"

This really shocked Jean-Luc. "With Beverly?"

"Yes. I know you prefer to attend these functions with friends."

Picard tried to figure out what Troi meant by that. "And... you think...  
Doctor Crusher is just a friend?"

This now shocked Troi. "Sir? Of course I do. I wasn't suggesting..."

But Picard cut her off. "Of course not. Thank you, Counselor."

The meeting thus ended, Deanna left the Ready Room, bumping into   
Will Riker on her way out. "Will, is the captain all right?"

"Why?"

"I felt a great deal of anxiousness from him. And when I mentioned  
Beverly going to the play, he acted as if I was trying to imply something else."

"No kidding. He also asked me what I was trying to imply when I mentioned  
the play to him."

They turned to find Worf now standing outside the Ready Room looking  
confused. Riker went over. "Lieutenant?"

"Sir, I mentioned seeing the captain in Ten Forward last night and  
remarked that even warriors need to relax sometime, and the captain became  
angry and dismissed me. He is acting extremely strangely today."

"You can say that again," said Riker.

"What could be wrong?" asked Troi.

"Let's go ask him," the First Officer decided. The three of them chimed  
at the door, then marched right into Picard's Ready Room. "Yes?" Jean-Luc  
asked.

"Captain, are you all right? Have we done something to offend you?"

"I'm fine, Number One."

"You have been acting a little uptight," said Troi. Then Worf thought of  
something. "Perhaps we should ask Doctor Crusher..."

Picard cut him off. "No!" He'd jumped up as he said it, and now sat back  
down, slowly. "No. That will not be necessary." He forced a smile. "I'm fine.  
Really." 

Perhaps it was all his imagination, the captain decided. Maybe his officers   
were only trying to make conversation. Maybe he was inferring the wrong thing.

He stood up again, pulled his jacket straight. "Thank you for your  
concern, Deanna, Will, Worf. You're dismissed."

"Aye, Sir." The three went out, looked at one another, shrugged, and went  
about their duties, each having decided that they couldn't very well ask for  
a medical review just because the man seemed a bit nervous. Who knew, maybe  
he'd heard from his brother or something.

***

But at lunch in Ten Forward, Deanna did mention the captain's aberrant  
behaviour to the ship's doctor. "Really?" asked Crusher. "What exactly did he do?"

"Nothing really. I mentioned that he should go with you to see Romeo and  
Juliet tonight, and he acted as if I was suggesting something more than that."

It dawned on Beverly what Picard thought. Like alcohol, the chemical  
Picard had ingested had made him forget what had gone on the previous night,  
and, having woken up naked in her quarters, he had gotten the wrong idea.

Beverly's face broke into an evil smile. "Oh."

"Oh?" queried Troi.

"Long story, Deanna. I might even tell you someday."

By the look on Crusher's face, Deanna decided that there was more to this  
than met the eye. Luckily, though, it seemed more of a personal matter, not  
one that could affect the safety of the Enterprise crew.

"Isn't there anything you'd like to tell me now?" asked Deanna, getting  
a similar evil grin on her face. 

"Moi?"

"Yes, vous. What IS going on? You're extremely amused."

Beverly laughed out loud. "It's actually pretty funny. I walk out of my  
bathroom - this was last night - to find Jean-Luc in my quarters. He's  
allergic to a chemical in a Risean drink, and it made him act a little..."

"Strange?"

"Uninhibited."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I gave him a sedative. I doubt he remembers anything."

"And...?"

"And when he woke up in my quarters, goodness only knows what he  
thought!" The two women began to giggle. 

"You're right," Deanna said finally, "that is pretty funny."

"But it's between you and me for now."

"Aren't you going to set the captain straight?"

Beverly got up. "In good time, my dear Counselor. In good time."

***

"Crusher to Picard."

"Picard here."

"Captain, I hope you didn't forget dinner in my quarters at eight?" The  
voice was carefully solicitous.

"Dinner? Ah..."

"Oh, you remember, Jean-Luc. We made the date last night. I'll expect you  
at eight. Don't be late. Oh!" She tried to sound as though she were just  
remebering something. "I think it's time for a routine physical."

"What, Doctor?"

"Since you have some free time, I think you should come down here for  
your physical."

"Now?"

"Now. That's an order, Captain."

"I don't think this is a convenient time." The last thing Picard wanted  
was to be alone with Beverly when he still had not totally composed himself  
after waking up, stark naked, in her quarters. But he also knew that it  
probably WAS time for a physical, and he had no choice but to obey the order.

***

The doctor did all the necessary scans, found Picard in perfect health, and  
then ordered him to take his clothes off.

"WHAT!"

"Come now, Captain. I know how accurate the tricorder is, but I'd still  
like some 'hands-on' knowledge, if you will." Her face looked completely  
innocent, and Picard wondered if this was truly part of the physical, or...  
but he took his clothes off. All except for one strategic piece, that is...

Beverly checked him over again, this time without the tricorder. "You appear  
to be in perfect health, Captain."

"I think this examination was unnecessary."

"Well we can't be too careful with the captain's health, can we?" she  
asked, as Picard put on his uniform. "Now I'll see you at eight. Don't - "

"Don't be late. Yes, Doctor."

Picard walked out of Sickbay, wondering who had suddenly turned up the  
temperature on the ship...

...while inside Sickbay, Doctor Beverly Crusher smiled evilly, wondering  
much the same thing.

***

For two hours Jean-Luc Picard composed his speech. He paced up and down, first  
in his Ready Room, and then in his quarters, trying to work out just what to  
say to her. "Beverly, last night was wrong... No! Beverly, last night was a  
mistake. Yes, mistake. Better. I wasn't myself, I didn't mean to take  
advantage of you. Please forgive me, and let us forget the incident..."

***

While Beverly Crusher sat, tapping her fingers on the table, waiting for  
eight, or twenty hundred hours, to come so that she could enlighten the  
captain. At precisely the right time, the door chimed. Beverly walked up to  
it, and, facing it, said, "Enter."

The door slid open, and Picard found himself staring at a Beverly wearing  
a rather revealing emerald green dress, looking at him invitingly. "Do come  
in, Jean-Luc."

"Thank you."

"What would you like for dinner? I decided that tonight we'd just have  
our own choices."

Picard dragged his thoughts away from his speech and back to the business  
at hand. "Food? Ah..."

She interrupted. "I know! A roast! I haven't had a roast for ages."

"Ah... all right." Picard could do little more than mumble agreement.

When they were seated, Beverly smiled. "Now, about last night, Jean-Luc.  
I think I'll have to tell you..."

"No, wait, Doctor. Let me explain first." The captain felt so nervous  
that he thought it would be better to get it off his chest once and for all,  
so to speak.

"Okay, you first." Crusher had a pretty good idea of what he'd say; she'd  
been waiting for it.

"Beverly, what happened last night was a mistake. I wasn't behaving like  
myself, and I did not mean to take advantage of your good nature. I hope you  
will forgive me, and we will forget the incident and carry on as before."

"What incident are you referring to, exactly?" The good doctor turned the  
screws a bit.

Picard faltered. "Last night... when I came to your quarters, and..."

"Oh, when you drank the Rurva Shake, came to my quarters, undressed, got  
into my bed, saw me naked, kissed first my shoulder and then me, and then  
passed out."

"What?" Picard was even more shocked than before.

"What part didn't you understand, Captain? The part about your getting  
into my bed naked? The part about seeing me naked? The part about kissing me,  
or the part about passing out?"

"I passed out?"

Beverly's eyebrows lifted in a gesture of amusement. "Well, not exactly.  
I gave you a sedative, and THEN you passed out."

"Y... you mean..."

"Of course not, Jean-Luc. You're allergic to a chemical in the Rurva  
Shake. It played havoc with you for a while, but by the time you woke up, it  
was out of your system. That's why you acted the way you did, and why you  
don't remember anything."

"So, I... we..."

"I would never take advantage of a situation like that. You were ill."

Picard suddenly saw the funny side. Not only had he thought wrong, but  
he'd made a fool of himself. And Beverly Crusher had known what he'd think,  
and had still allowed him to make that ridiculous speech. She'd made him  
squirm for an entire day before letting him off the hook.

Now Picard was the one with an evil look on his face. "Doctor, you made  
your captain suffer. You toyed with me... and that physical wasn't necessary!"  
he concluded.

Beverly tried to look innocent. It didn't work. "No... but it was fun,  
wasn't it?"

"Doctor!" Picard was shocked, but he had to try like anything not to  
laugh. It didn't work; he burst out laughing. "Doctor, that was extremely  
inhuman."

"Yes, but as I said, it was great fun." Beverly got up from the table,  
and Picard followed. 

"Where are you going?"

"To Ten Forward for some dessert. I think we both need to be in company  
before you strangle me." She headed for the door, but Picard was two steps  
behind, and grabbed her arm carefully.

"No, you don't, Doctor. First, I want an apology."

"An apology!" Beverly playfully tried to get away, Picard just as  
playfully refused to let her. "Let me go, Jean-Luc, I'm not apologising. I'm  
not the one who propositioned my chief medical officer in her quarters last  
night."

"No, you're the one who made me sit through an entire day of thinking I'd  
done something totally unforgivable."

Beverly still struggled; Picard still held her. Neither noticed that  
their faces were getting progressively closer together, until suddenly Picard  
let go of Crusher's arm, wrapped his arms around her, and kissed her. Hard.

When the kiss ended and Picard let her go, Beverly could only stare at him.  
"J... Jean-L... C... Captain... I think we... please leave now."

"I think I..." but when she turned her head and looked at him, Picard  
kissed her again, and this time he didn't let go when it ended. All the  
playfulness was gone from both their eyes, replaced with the same heat that  
had been there the night before, only more intense now, more undeniable. 

Picard was holding her so close to him that he could almost feel her  
heart beating against his. He put his hand in her hair and moved it from her  
face, then bent his head to kiss her again. When the kiss ended this time,  
Jean-Luc knew that he could only leave if ordered to. He just stared at  
Beverly, breathing hard, and Beverly stared at him.

Picard unzipped the emerald green creation that this woman had on, and  
it fell to the floor. Crusher did nothing, just stood there, never taking her  
eyes from his face. She felt oddly powerless to do anything, although what she  
wanted more than anything else was to remove his uniform. She managed to bring  
one hand up, indicating her desire, and Picard removed the uniform himself,  
still looking at her.

Not a word had been said since the second kiss, and neither said anything  
now, they just walked together into the sleeping quarters and got onto the  
bed. Beverly looked sideways at him. "S... say something, Jean-Luc."

"I love you," he replied.

***

When Picard awoke the next morning, he was again naked and again in Beverly  
Crusher's bed... but this time there was no misunderstanding of what had  
happened between them. She was here, just as naked as he was, in his arms, and  
he knew now, inextricably, inevitably in his life. 

It had happened so quickly, but perhaps that was the only way for something like   
this to happen. Perhaps he thought about things too much. All Picard knew was that   
he had wanted Beverly the night before because he had loved her for as long as he   
could remember, and he had finally acted on it. 

He stopped staring at the wall when he felt her eyes on him. "Good morning, Captain."

He smiled. "Good morning, Doctor."

"Is this the start of something really beautiful?"

"Oh, yes," he replied... and somewhere inside themselves both knew that  
if questioned by the crew, they would tell the truth, the whole truth, and  
nothing but the truth.

"I do love you, Jean-Luc," said Beverly, kissing him.

Picard would have replied that he loved her too, if he hadn't been too  
busy kissing her right back.

THE END


End file.
